• Warhammer 40 000 Mechanicus - Heretek
• Warhammer Mechanicus Xbox

Guide, tips and hints for the Xerxete's first mission, 'Enemies closer' - Stop the rebellion.

Heretek is the expansion to the critically acclaimed tactical turn-based Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus. Opening a whole new plot line, Heretek exposes the dark underbelly of the Adeptus Mechanicus faction like never before. Brand new narrative events have been handcrafted once again by Ben Counter, allowing players to uncover what has brought civil unrest to The Caestus Metalican during its. Warhammer 40000: Mechanicus is a turn-based tactics title where players control the Adeptus Mechanicus tech priests as they stumble onto a planet with one of the deadliest enemies they’ve ever faced. My review of the base game can be found here, but the subject of this review is the latest update and newest addition, called Heretek.

Guide to First Xerxete's Mission

Intro

Enemies closer is the first mission of the series for Xerxetes. It's one of the more difficult missions in the game, so I've decided to write a guide for it. This is not a detailed walkthrough of the mission telling you what to do, but rather a guide that tells you about the options and approaches.
Rewards depend on a difficulty level (or are random per save?).
Mission begin with a dialog:

• Xerxetes: Your attention, Magos!
• Faustinius: My attention is on Silva Tenebris, Xerxetes. I must trust you to fulfill your duties as Subtribune without my oversight.
• Xerxetes: We cannot neglect the security on board the Caestus Metalican! I bring news of a violent uprising among the lower ranks of the Tech-Priests and menials on the enginarium decks.
• Faustinius: An uprising? This is the last thing we need. I permit myself to experience frustration at this news. Your solution, Subtribune?
• Xerxetes: There is but one solution to malcontents and rebellion, Magos! It is as the discipline of Physics states it: Force always wins!

And so, the mission begins...

Pre-Battle Hints

You will soak a lot of physical damage in melee range and acid damage over time. Take all physical armor items you can, they are more important than just buffing your health (though if you do have just base-10 health units - I would recommend skipping this mission until you are ready)
All major enemies (tech-priests) start being untargettable until they make their first attack, which will be really punishing. Additionally, they can gain 100% dodge chance against all attacks with a cooldown of 2 turns.

• Healing items are a must.
• You can disable the untargettability by triggering an opportunity attack (enter then exit melee range).
• Upgraded Servo-Skull and acid will still do damage, even if an enemy has 100% dodge chance.
• You always should know which tech-priest is on 100% dodge and which one has used his opportunity attack. Sadly you have to memorize it, as there's no display in the game itself.

A lot of tutorials don't say it, so: Remember that if you do unlock a weapon or an item - you can equip it on all of your tech-priests. Even if it seems like there's just one in the inventory.
If you have abilities with timeouts - try to use them as soon as sensible (just remember to manage cognition points). Also consider having at least 1 CP-free weapon for each of your Tech-Priests, as this will be a long and CP-expensive mission. Also I would advise using your servo-skulls primarily for collecting CP, even if you have 2 or 3 unused at the end of your turn.
Note that during the turn enemy can either move and shoot or 'Sprint' for double the movement range, but no attack. If enemy enters your melee range after the sprint - you will still be locked into the opportunity shot. It can lead to the situations like this:

Choice 1: Objective

The first choice declares the mission objectives.
Options give respectively:

• Information warfare - Scan or destroy - objective is to scan OR destroy a console.
• Follow-up objective if any tech-priests are alive: Survive 3 rounds.
• Sample gameplay video.

• Justice through firepower - Survive 6 rounds - this can be done by kiting the enemies. Optimally take 2 tech-priests with movement buffs + 1 healing item each. After completing this mission 4 times I have found this objective to be the easiest one.
• Follow-up objective if any tech-priests are alive: None.

• Decapitation - Kill or destroy targets - you're supposed to destroy the leaders, however, there is no telltale which tech-priests are the leaders. Very likely you have to kill all but 2?
• Follow-up objective if any tech-priests are alive: Survive 3 rounds.
• Sample gameplay video.

Note that even if you do not pick the Information warfare objective - the console will still be there and scanning it will grant you Blackstone as usual.

Choice 2: Starting Positions

This allows you to pick the starting positions. Here are the screenshots of each one with a potential synergies to the objectives:
Up the Middle

• Good for the Decapitation objective.

Flanking Manoeuvae

• Best for the Information Warfare, alternative for the Justice Through Firepower.

Shooting Gallery

• Best for the Justice Through Firepower or in general: kiting-based gameplay.

Choice 3: Chance to Strike a Blow

Silent Strike - Kill 1 Tech-Priest

Warhammer 40 000 Mechanicus - Heretek

• IMHO by far most beneficial one. tech-priests are by far the most challenging opponents. In the pure damage terms, it's equal up to 12 damage points excluding armor, but each priest can trigger a 1 turn of 100% dodge chance + they have both types of armor, making it realistically a significant relief.

All Out - +5 Cognition Points

• Worth it only if you can trigger Tech Priest's opportunity attack on the first move of the turn and kill him before he makes his action or if you have chosen Justice through firepower objective and want to spawn troopers that will go through a different lane than the one you've picked (I would recommend Skitarii Ranger Alpha, as he can avoid Opportunity attacks).

Go Loud - Kill 2 Servitors

• It's equal up to 14 damage points (each servitor has 7 health excluding armor, servitors have 0-1 physical/energy armor, never both).

Enemies

Xenarite Tech-Priest
Tech

• Melee weapon (level 2 Xenarite Axe, adds 1 acid damage for 3 turns on top of a regular attack).
• Cog Occultaris (Untargetable until first attack of the match, +50% critical chance for the first attack).
• Omnispex 3 (Target enemy gains a 100% miss chance on attacks for 1 round, Cooldown 2).
• The spike'y thing (does direct damage at melee range).

Xenarite Tech-Priest using Omnispex
Impossible to target until the first attack

• First attack can be triggered either by letting enemy start his turn within his movement range or by triggering Opportunity attack (enter and exit melee range during your turn, or exit melee after enemy has sprinted within your melee range)

Warhammer Mechanicus Xbox

Xenarite Servitor

• Modified Servitor [lvl 3]. Energy or Physical Armor 0-3 (note that 3 armor servitors are very rare), Physical damage 1-3.

Map

Below you can find a downscaled composite map of the mission. It's meant to be used only as a general overview, don't try to count individual squares of it, as it took many, many screenshots to build it and there are shifts of perspective as the camera moved over the battlefield. Sadly the game currently does not allow you to display the top-down perspective of the whole map at a glance.

Mission Complete

This is the ending for the Justice through firepower objective:
Mission Complete
With their servitors inactive or destroyed, the rebels are overwhelmed by the cohort's assault. The traitous Tech-Priests are cut down or flee into the labyrinth of the Caestus Metalican's interior. The true mission has only just begun, however. What prompted this rebellion? And are their leaders truly all dead?

• Xerxetes: Our triumph was inevitable, Magos! The only language the rebel understands is violence, and our statement has been made.
• Faustinius: A victory indeed, Subtribune, but it is not an answer.
• Tiresus: Magos, I have recovered the internal databanks of one of the rebel Tech-Priests. They were heavily encrypted, in contravention of all regulations.
• Faustinius: Then they were hiding something. Can you recover any data?
• Tiresus: Only a fragment. It is a name. 'Epsilus Dammek-Yoth'. It means nothing to me, I fear.
• Faustinius: Nor I, Xenobiologis Tiresus.
• Scaevola: [formal request][formal speech mode] Magos, a moment of your time, if I may, in private.
• Faustinius: Be quick, Tech-Acquisitor. Matters requiring my attention have multiplied.
• Scaevola: Recollection begins: Epsilus Dammek-Yoth. [Designate] Arch-Heretek. [Origin] Stygies VIII. Classification status = Secretum Omega.
• Faustinius: You have heard of this Epsilus? An arch-heretek? I am forced to quarantine great consternation at this knowledge. You believe their followers are on the Caestus Metalican?
• Scaevola: Certanity < 30% error: insufficient data. [Format recommendation] seek additional input.
• Faustinius: The quest for more information never ends. I would know more of this Epsilus Dammek-Yoth, Scaevola. Keep me informed of what you find.

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